Yes, on this blog I call my daughter Bitsy. No, that is not her real name. Actually, across social media she is called Bitsy. My husband and I call her that on all of our pages and ask that anyone who posts about her does the same. Maybe it’s paranoia, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.
There are a number of reasons for this. Here are some:
- The world is full of creeps. I’ll be the first to admit that I watch too much Law & Order, but unfortunately some of that is based in truth. We didn’t want creeps to be able to google her name and find out about her.
- Technology is ever changing. When I was an infant, my parents never could have imagined the technology that we have now. Can you imagine what technology will exist when Bitsy is my age? Neither can I. I don’t want Bitsy’s future bosses to be able to find out all about her too easily.
- I’m a mom, sometimes I say embarrassing things. Sometimes I post embarrassing things too. I like that the anonymity allows me to say and post things that may embarrass her down the road. I like being able to crowdsource moms or post things and not worry that she will hate me in 10 years for posting personal information under her name.
We decided while I was pregnant that we would use a pseudonym on social media. We didn’t settle on Bitsy until after she was born. She was a peanut when she was born, and under 6 pounds when she came home from the hospital. She was Itsy Bitsy…Hence Bitsy!